untitled design

Requests for judicial reorganization fall in 2021 to the lowest level since 2014

The number of requests for judicial recovery of companies in the second year of the new coronavirus pandemic fell by 24.4% across the country compared to 2020, the first year of the disease and when there was a 15% drop compared to the previous year, according to data. by Serasa Experian.

In all, the Judiciary registered 891 requests last year, against 1,179 in 2020. “The year 2021 ended with the lowest number of requests since 2014”, inform Guilherme Macêdo and Uri Wainberg, partners at Marcello Macêdo Advogados, which specializes in corporate restructuring. .

According to a survey carried out by the firm, of the total of judicial recoveries requested to the Courts, 604 were from micro and small companies, 197 from medium-sized and 90 from large companies.

The most affected sector was the services sector, which has the greatest weight in the Brazilian economy – around two thirds of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Of the total of 891 requests in 2021, service companies were responsible for 460 requests for judicial recovery, against 589 in 2020. The commerce and industry sectors registered 199 and 142 requests, respectively.

Macêdo and Wainberg explain that, even in the pandemic, entrepreneurs resorted less to the Judiciary in 2021 because, among other factors, debts were renegotiated, extrajudicial agreements were made and new lines of credit were made available.

In addition, according to experts, labor laws became more flexible, emergency aid helped maintain consumption and the advent of Law nº 14.112/20 (new law on judicial recovery and bankruptcy), which came into force in January 2021 and amended Law No. 11,101/05, also contributed to the drop in recovery requests. This is because the new legislation brings a certain uncertainty to the actors about how it will be applied.

“Undoubtedly, these numbers do not represent an economic recovery in the country, but a temporary relief due to the factors mentioned. The current scenario of galloping inflation and interest rates is still extremely challenging”, says Macêdo.

He also recalls that 2022 is an election year, “which tends to exacerbate the situation of uncertainty, normally implying a more expensive borrowing, which, in turn, tends to discourage consumption and further strangle the cash flow of companies. companies, especially micro and small entrepreneurs”, he added.

According to the lawyers, some entrepreneurs decided to close the companies, without opening a bankruptcy process or attempting to recover. That is, the companies probably went directly to the liquidation process.

For Wainberg, last year’s numbers do not represent an economic recovery, but an artificial improvement in the business environment promoted by specific public policies.

The expert points out that these public policies were taken in extraordinary times, and will probably “take their toll at some point”.

“In 2022, election season, we will have an even more complex scenario. What remains to be seen is whether, when the real account of the pandemic arrives, we will have the structure and mechanisms suitable for the uplift of economic activity or we will be even more indebted”, concluded Wainberg.

Reference: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular